The Federal Housing Minister and the Treasury have been in the media in recent weeks discussing the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme, with recent figures showing that the demand for the scheme is nearly double that predicted by the Treasury, anticipated to cost the Government around $2 billion. What is the HomeBuilder Grant? The HomeBuilder scheme […]
As more and more people are starting to live in strata residences, it is important to remember that the strata by-laws govern what the owner of the unit is allowed to do in their own place of residence. The NSW Court of Appeal recently made a finding in the case of Cooper v The Owners […]
The NSW Government is continuing with its promised retirement village sector reforms with new laws to be introduced into parliament later this year that will see exit entitlements paid more quickly when residents depart their village. Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson recently announced that the new reforms will improve access to exit entitlements, […]
Under the Australian Government’s foreign investment framework, foreign persons are required to apply for foreign investment approval before purchasing residential real estate in Australia. The Government’s policy is to channel foreign investment into new dwellings. Consistent with this aim, different factors apply depending on whether the type of property being acquired will increase the housing […]
The first day of December 2019 heralded not only the start of summer, but also a more sunny environment for purchasers of residential lots in off-the-plan contracts. From 1 December 2019 the Conveyancing Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (NSW) and Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Amendment Regulation 2019 (NSW) came into effect, imposing more extensive obligations on […]
The first thing you must do when attending an auction is register with the vendor’s agent who will then give you a bidder’s number. Once the auction commences the auctioneer will accept bids from potential buyers and keep track of the current bid. Prior to the auction, the vendor will nominate a reserve price, which […]
1 July 2019 saw the commencement of the next wave of reforms in the retirement village sector following the Greiner Review, with further parts of the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2018 No 77 coming into effect following proclamation on 13 February 2019. These reforms include: 1. Annual contract ‘check-up’ meetings with residents; 2. New requirements […]
Granny flat arrangements are becoming increasingly popular. Too often however, a granny flat arrangement will fail to deliver what the parties were expecting leading to family disputes or even litigation. What are granny flat arrangements? The traditional notion of an aged parent living in a flat in the backyard is only one such scenario. A […]
There are various terms, concepts and expressions used in the retirement village sector, but what does it all really mean? Below is a brief summary of the more common terms and their plain English meaning: Ingoing Contribution: This is the amount paid by a resident for the right to reside in the premises. It is […]
Given some recent cases and media around the abuse of sunset dates by some developers, changes to the laws around off-the-plan contracts certainly isn’t unexpected. The Conveyancing Legislation Amendment Act 2018 No 75 (NSW) was assented to on 22 November 2018 and is set to provide better protections for purchasers of off-the-plan properties. While we […]







